My wife and I have cooked small and large standing rib roasts for over 20 years during the holidays. By the measure of small, I refer to 7-8 lbs, and by large, 16-18 lbs. One must take into consideration the size of the roast and act timely/accordingly to it's mass. A small roast gives much less leeway as to perfection. A large roast will give everyone at the table much more ability to perfect their slice to their individual taste. I try to have my end result (after resting) no more than 134F. This involves anticipating the rate of climb after rest. The hotter the oven, the higher the climb relative the size. No matter what is said ANYWHERE, if you cook a standing rib to no more than 134F (after rest), you can always have a iron skillet on the stove with some near boiling, properly seasoned au jus sauce, you can always dip the slice into the pan for approximately 15-30 seconds per side and make even the most pink-meated fearful person happy at your table, as they will have a slice that is dripping with flavour and a color to match their palate. As a footnote, I try to purposely undercook my roasts just for the purpose of re-heating another day in a saucepan with hot au jus. This turns out to be a perfect manner in which to re-heat and re-live the enjoyment.

Read just about all of this string, quite a few years of good stuff! Looking forward to attempting the techniques described, and most importantly, choosing 200 degrees fahrenheit for the majority of the cooking process.

My question is above -- should I go in convection mode? Not sure of the pros and/or cons of doing so. Many thanks

Another year, another visit to CfE to get the prime rib recipe. I only cook prime rib once a year on Christmas so I always have to come back here to refresh my memory. I follow it to the letter and it always comes out perfect. Just like the recipe says, you get perfectly cooked meat from the bone to the outside.

I wanted to comment about size. It's just me and my daughter so I don't need a large roast, and I don't have a butcher nearby so I rely on the supermarket. I never buy it by size. I learned from watching Julia Child to look at the eye to get it closer to the loin and that's what I look for. Supermarkets don't usually have huge roasts anyway, so I pick the best from what's in the case. I go to the store expecting to spend a lot, but that's OK because it's Christmas. Some years the best one was 4 ribs and I bought that. One year it was a 1 rib roast, but it was absolutely perfect so I bought that. This year I got a 2 rib roast.

No matter what size I get, I cook it according to this recipe and it always comes out perfect. I know some think smaller cuts should be cooked like a steak but I cook it like it's a roast. The only deviation I make from this recipe is that I don't sear it at all. I forgot that step one year and I couldn't tell the difference when it was done so I don't bother with that anymore. It still comes out perfect.

Even though I use supermarket cuts of meat, it still comes out better than what I've had in restaurants because this recipe does exactly what it says it will do: produce an evenly cooked roast that is medium rare from the bone to the outside.

Poor planning has led to a rush job on the 11.5 pound, 5-rib roast. I seasoned the beef the day before. However, I did not have time to let the rib come up to room temp. It has basically gone from the cooler into a 200 degree oven. Since the consensus here is that there is no way to successfully predict how long this will take, I'll update this post with the results. I am going to check the roast in exactly 3.5 hours. I want to pull it from the oven when the internal temp is 125 or so. I wish there was a way to time it so that I knew when to set the table! Dinner may be served anytime between 2:00 pm and 4:30 pm, ugh.

I have been visiting this site every Easter and Christmas since 2005 for a refresher course on cooking the best prime rib ever! Just wanted to say thanks for your site, your recipes, etc. . . Happy Holidays to you all!!

What great site. Over 5 years of discussion on one subject, I love it!
The method I use is similar, but just a little weird.

5-6 lb roast (3 rib) into a cast iron dutch oven (approx 11 in across the top) with about 1/2 in of rock salt in the bottom. 6 cloves of garlic (smashed & peeled) directly under the roast & then...fill the pan with rock salt. Yes folks, all the way up leaving only the very top (fat cap) of the roast exposed. 200 degrees F. for around 3-5 hours until done to your liking. Then brush the salt off the roast, let rest & dig in. No, it does not get too salty, the real drawback is that there is no jus to make a gravy with.

This works well for me, because I can take it out when it reaches 110-120 deg & transport it (pan, salt & roast) to another location. The cast iron & salt hold the heat so it finishes cooking on the way.

I have done prime rib using the tips I learned on this site for the last few years. This year I also read the serious eats tip on searing after the initial cook and rest period. While searing first also works pretty well, I think the end sear is best.

I got a beautiful roast from Ream's Elburn Market in Elburn IL

I took the 18.77 lb roast out of the fridge the night before and inserted some garlic slivers, and seasoned with my own rub, salt, garlic powder, pepper, a touch of cumin, and a bit of my BBQ rub.

I covered the roast with the wrapping paper, and a few towels, and let it rest to come up to room temp. The interior of the roast was 42F when I took it out, and was 53F when I was ready to start the roast around noon.

I set the oven at 200F, and roasted until the digital thermometer read 123F.

I covered and rested for about 45 Min while we made pop overs and some other veggies. The internal temp rose to about 128F.

We then cranked up the oven to 500F, and crusted the exterior for about 8 minutes.

Rested again for about 15 min, and Carved a perfectly Medium Rare roast.

All of the roasts I have made came out great, but this was the best. I am sold on the sear last method.

This is only my second year of cooking a standing roast but now have a 2-0 record for perfect. This year it was a Kroger bought ~4.5lb, two rib roast, set on a thin wire grate, several inches off a thin aluminum drip pan, tented with aluminum foil most of the time, in the center of a conventional electric oven, targeting and generally hanging around 200F with temps varying from 190F-210F. I vacuum sealed and let it come to temperature in a pot with a little running water. Did not pan sear, just rubbed some rosemary/garlic seasoning all over it. Pulled it out with an internal temp of 127F, temp rose to 130F while broiling a mix of green beans and asparagus (stinky pee). Red almost to the point of looking rare all the way through and TENDER. Me, wife and 4yr old loved it. Surprisingly, there were hardly any drips in the drip pan, if any?

Did a 13lb one from Omaha steaks last year that ended up just a couple degrees warmer. I was so proud of myself that not only did I not mess it up, but it was that beautiful deep pink/red throughout. My dad asked for a pan, being as excited and busy as I was I didn't pay much attention to what he was about to do. He turned the griddle up to high, let it get good and hot, then stuck his half rib serving onto the pan. Not a touch and go, a full on cooked grey throughout He should have just asked for a cheap sirloin if that's how he wanted it!

I think I will slice some of today’s leftovers thin, lightly vacuum seal and heat in 120F ish water then make some aju sauce and hoagie roll sandwiches. I should have Prime rib more often.

Mmmmm! Mmmm! Mmmm! PURR-fect medium rare with a wonderful crust from the rub.
A few observations ...

There were a couple of un-reformed "medium" diners. For the first time I used the "1-minute warm in just below boiling jus" method. (Thanks to a tip on this forum.) Very slick! It made the slice look "medium" although it really wasn't cooked significantly more done than the pink meet. Got rave reviews from the "medium" folks!

The porcini rub may be a bit too much flavor for some. In which case, scrape off the rub just before you place the roast in the oven.

For fantastic jus, find the little containers of high-quality paste/gel (not powdered!) base for "glace" at better grocery stores. A $5 container makes a cup of traditional glace. Blend and thin to taste with the drippings from the pan. (The stock or water in the bottom of the pan will have mostly evaporated and kept the drippings from burning.)